Current interest in lottery games have resulted in a wide range of publicly promoted games conducted throughout the United States and elsewhere. These games take several forms including the well-known scratch card games in which winning numbers are determined by scratching off a covering layer on cards to disclose the winning numbers. Another form of public lottery involves pre-sold tickets bearing number combinations, with the winning number combinations selected periodically from a pool of money derived from ticket sales. This game is ordinarily characterized as a scratch ticket game while the former is an online game. The present invention provides improved features to both types of games.
The online lottery game has become popular throughout the country by virtue of the very large jackpots that build up over a time period, These jackpots grow, in large measure because the odds of winning multiple number combinations are relatively small. For example, in a recent Powerball game, the chances of winning the jackpot were in the order of 1 in 120 million, Conventionally, in these games, if the winning number is not picked, the money pool or a portion of it, derived from ticket sales, is held over and added to the next drawing, so that the winning pool gets larger with each successive drawing in which there is no winner. Obviously when no one wins the pool for a number of weeks, the amount of money in the pool grows. As it grows, the public interest in the increasingly valuable pool also grows.
To maintain a continuing interest in these games, prizes are awarded for picking fewer than all of the required numbers needed to win the large major prize. Thus, in many instances, when there is no winner of the major prize for weeks or even months, smaller awards may be regularly made. For example, in a six number lottery, picking all six is required to win the major prize, but selecting, for example, four of the six will result in lesser awards. Typically these consolation awards may reach $100,000, while the major or grand prize grows with each drawing in which there is no grand prize winner.
One drawback with these games is that the major prize is usually won in a matter of 3 to 12 weeks, thus limiting the interest in the game, since once the major or grand prize is won, the game starts over again and it takes a number of drawings before the major pool grows to a size that attracts a significant number of players.
Another concern with certain types of online games is that the online drawing is frequently watched by a large television audience. There is always an interest in maintaining as much interest in the drawing process as possible so as to permit individuals playing the game to remain in suspense until winning numbers are drawn.